Read the Bible in a Year
Each day, we'll post passages so that you can read the Bible in one year. This is part of The Colossians 13:16 Project, sponsored by Cove Presbyterian Church, 3404 Main Street, Weirton, West Virginia. You're invited to worship with us Sundays, at 11:00 a.m. or Saturdays, at 6:30 p.m. You may also want to consider joining one our adult Bible Studies: Thursdays at 12:00 noon and Sundays at 9:30 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. We also have a full range of programs for children. If you want more information about the church, check out the other blogs. And please feel free to leave any comments.
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Today our passages are Leviticus
22:17–23:44; Mark 9:30–10:12; Psalm 44:1-8; and Proverbs 10:19. The readings are
the Contemporary English
Version.
Leviticus 22:17-23:44 (Contemporary English Version)
Acceptable Sacrifices
17The
LORD told Moses 18to tell Aaron and his
sons and everyone else the rules for offering sacrifices. He said:
The animals that are to be completely burned on the altar 19-20must have nothing wrong with them, or
else I won't accept them. Bulls or rams or goats
are the animals to be used for these sacrifices. 21When you offer a sacrifice to ask my blessing,
there must be nothing wrong with the animal. This is true, whether the sacrifice
is part of a promise or something you do voluntarily. 22Don't offer an animal that is blind or injured or that
has an infection or a skin disease. 23If one of your cattle or lambs has a leg that is longer
or shorter than the others, you may offer it voluntarily, but not as part of a
promise. 24As long as you live in this
land, don't offer an animal with injured testicles. 25And don't bring me animals you bought from a foreigner. I
won't accept them, because they are no better than one that has something wrong
with it. 26The LORD told Moses to say:
27Newborn cattle, sheep, or
goats must remain with their mothers for seven days, but on the eighth day, you
may send them up in smoke to me, and I will accept the offering. 28Don't sacrifice a newborn animal and its
mother on the same day.
29When you offer a sacrifice to
give thanks
to me, you must do it in a way that is acceptable. 30Eat all of the meat that same day and don't save any for
the next day. I am the LORD your God! 31Obey my laws and teachings--I am the LORD. 32-33I demand respect from the people of
Israel, so don't disgrace my holy name. Remember--I am the one who chose you to
be priests and rescued all of you from Egypt, so that I would be your LORD.
Leviticus 23
Religious Festivals
1The LORD
told Moses 2to say to the community of
Israel:
I have chosen certain times for you to come together and worship me.
3You have six days when you can
do your work, but the seventh day of each week is holy because it belongs to me.
No matter where you live, you must rest on the Sabbath and come together for
worship. This law will never change.
The LORD said:
Passover and the Festival of Thin Bread
(Numbers 28.16-25)
4-5Passover
is another time when you must come together to worship me, and it must be
celebrated on the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month
of each year. 6The Festival of Thin
Bread begins on the fifteenth day of that same month; it lasts seven days, and
during this time you must honor me by eating bread made without yeast. 7On the first day of this festival you must
rest from your work and come together for worship. 8Each day of this festival you must offer sacrifices. Then
on the final day you must once again rest from your work and come together for
worship.
Offering the First Part of the Harvest
9The LORD told Moses 10to say to the community of Israel:
After you enter the land I am giving you, the first bundle of wheat from
each crop must be given to me. So bring it to a priest 11on the day after the Sabbath. He will lift it up
in dedication to me, and I will accept you. 12You must also offer a sacrifice to please me.
So bring the priest a one-year-old lamb that has nothing wrong with it 13and four pounds of your finest flour mixed
with olive oil. Then he will place these on the bronze altar and send them up in
smoke with a smell that pleases me. Together with these, you must bring a quart
of wine as a drink offering. 14I am
your God, and I forbid you to eat any new grain or anything made from it until
you have brought these offerings. This law will never change. The LORD said:
The Harvest Festival
(Numbers 28.26-31)
15Seven
weeks after you offer this bundle of grain, each family must bring another
offering of new grain. 16Do this
exactly fifty days later, which is the day following the seventh Sabbath. 17Bring two loaves of bread to be lifted up
in dedication to me. Each loaf is to be made with yeast and with four pounds of
the finest flour from the first part of your harvest. 18At this same time, the entire community of Israel must
bring seven lambs that are a year old, a young bull, and two rams. These animals
must have nothing wrong with them, and they must be offered as a sacrifice to
please me.
You must also offer the proper grain and wine sacrifices with each animal.
19Offer a goat
as a sacrifice for sin, and two rams a year old as a sacrifice to ask my
blessing.
20The priest will lift up
the rams together with the bread in dedication to me. These offerings are holy
and are my gift to the priest. 21This
is a day of celebration and worship, a time of rest from your work. You and your
descendants must obey this law. 22When
you harvest your grain, always leave some of it standing around the edges of
your fields and don't pick up what falls on the ground. Leave it for the poor
and for those foreigners who live among you. I am the LORD your God!
The Festival of Trumpets
(Numbers 29.1-6)
23The LORD
told Moses 24-25to say to the people of
Israel:
The first day of the seventh month
must be a day of complete rest. Then at the sound of the trumpets, you will come
together to worship and to offer sacrifices on the altar.
The Great Day of Forgiveness
(Numbers 29.7-11)
26The LORD
God said to Moses:
27The tenth day of the seventh
month
is the Great Day of Forgiveness.
It is a solemn day of worship; everyone must go without eating to show sorrow
for their sins, and sacrifices must be burned. 28No one is to work on that day--it is the Great Day of
Forgiveness, when sacrifices will be offered to me, so that I will forgive your
sins. 29I will destroy anyone who
refuses to go without eating. 30-31None
of my people are ever to do any work on that day--not now or in the future. And
I will wipe out those who do! 32This is
a time of complete rest just like the Sabbath, and everyone must go without
eating from the evening of the ninth to the evening of the tenth.
The Festival of Shelters
(Numbers 29.12-40)
33The LORD
told Moses 34to say to the community of
Israel:
Beginning on the fifteenth day of the seventh month,
and continuing for seven days, everyone must celebrate the Festival of Shelters
in honor of me. 35No one is to do any
work on the first day of the festival--it is a time when everyone must come
together for worship. 36For seven days,
sacrifices must be offered on the altar. The eighth day is also to be a day of
complete rest, as well as a time of offering sacrifices on the altar and of
coming together for worship. 37I have
chosen these festivals as times when my people must come together for worship
and when animals, grain, and wine are to be offered on the proper days. 38These festivals must be celebrated in
addition to the Sabbaths and the times when you offer special gifts or
sacrifices to keep a promise or as a voluntary offering.
39Remember to begin the Festival
of Shelters on the fifteenth day of the seventh month after you have harvested
your crops. Celebrate this festival for seven days in honor of me and don't do
any work on the first day or on the day following the festival. 40Pick the best fruit from your trees
and cut leafy branches to use during the time of this joyous celebration in my
honor. 41I command you and all of your
descendants to celebrate this festival during the seventh month of each year.
42For seven days every Israelite must
live in a shelter, 43so future
generations will know that I made their ancestors live in shelters when I
brought them out of Egypt. I am the LORD your God. 44This is how Moses instructed the people of Israel to
celebrate the LORD's festivals.
Mark 9:30-10:12 (Contemporary English Version)
Jesus Again Speaks about His Death
(Matthew 17.22,23; Luke 9.43b-45)
30Jesus left with his disciples and started through
Galilee. He did not want anyone to know about it, 31because he was teaching the disciples that the Son of Man
would be handed over to people who would kill him. But three days later he would
rise to life. 32The disciples did not
understand what Jesus meant, and they were afraid to ask.
Who Is the Greatest?
(Matthew 18.1-5; Luke 9.46-48)
33Jesus and his disciples went to his home in Capernaum.
After they were inside the house, Jesus asked them, "What were you arguing about
along the way?" 34They had been
arguing about which one of them was the greatest, and so they did not answer.
35After Jesus sat down and told
the twelve disciples to gather around him, he said, "If you want the place of
honor, you must become a slave and serve others!"
36Then Jesus had a child stand
near him. He put his arm around the child and said, 37"When you welcome even a child because of me, you welcome
me. And when you welcome me, you welcome the one who sent me."
For or against Jesus
(Luke 9.49,50)
38John said,
"Teacher, we saw a man using your name to force demons out of people. But he
wasn't one of us, and we told him to stop."
39Jesus said to his disciples:
Don't stop him! No one who works miracles in my name will soon turn and
say something bad about me. 40Anyone
who isn't against us is for us. 41And
anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name, just because you belong to me,
will surely be rewarded.
Temptations To Sin
(Matthew 18.6-9; Luke 17.1,2)
42It will be terrible for people who cause even one of my
little followers to sin. Those people would be better off thrown into the ocean
with a heavy stone tied around their necks. 43-44So if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off! You
would be better off to go into life crippled than to have two hands and be
thrown into the fires of hell that never go out.
45-46If your foot causes you to sin,
chop it off. You would be better off to go into life lame than to have two feet
and be thrown into hell.
47If your eye causes you to sin, get
rid of it. You would be better off to go into God's kingdom with only one eye
than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell. 48The worms there never die, and the fire never stops
burning.
49Everyone must be salted with
fire.
50Salt is good. But if it no
longer tastes like salt, how can it be made salty again? Have salt among you and
live at peace with each other.
Mark 10
Teaching about Divorce
(Matthew 19.1-12; Luke 16.18)
1After Jesus left, he went to Judea and then on to the
other side of the Jordan River. Once again large crowds came to him, and as
usual, he taught them.
2Some Pharisees wanted to test
Jesus. So they came up to him and asked if it was right for a man to divorce his
wife. 3Jesus asked them, "What does
the Law of Moses say about that?"
4They answered, "Moses allows a
man to write out divorce papers and send his wife away."
5Jesus replied, "Moses gave you
this law because you are so heartless. 6But in the beginning God made a man and a woman. 7That's why a man leaves his father and
mother and gets married. 8He becomes
like one person with his wife. Then they are no longer two people, but one. 9And no one should separate a couple that
God has joined together."
10When Jesus and his disciples
were back in the house, they asked him about what he had said. 11He told them, "A man who divorces his
wife and marries someone else is unfaithful to his wife. 12A woman who divorces her husband
and marries again is also unfaithful."
Psalm 44:1-8 (Contemporary English Version)
Psalm 44
(A special psalm for the people of Korah and for the music leader.)
A Prayer for Help
1Our God,
our ancestors told us
what wonders you worked
and we listened carefully.
2You chased off the nations
by causing them trouble
with your powerful arm.
Then you let our ancestors
take over their land.
3Their strength and weapons
were not
what won the land
and gave them victory!
You loved them and fought
with your powerful arm
and your shining glory.
4You are my God and King,
and you give victory
to the people of Jacob.
5By your great power,
we knocked our enemies down
and stomped on them.
6I don't depend on my arrows
or my sword to save me.
7But you saved us
from our hateful enemies,
and you put them to shame.
8We boast about you, our God,
and we are always grateful.
Proverbs 10:19 (Contemporary English Version)
19You will say the wrong thing
if you talk too much--
so be sensible and watch
what you say.
Verse of the Day
“God's Spirit doesn't make cowards out of us. The Spirit gives us power,
love, and self-control.” - 2
Timothy 1:7
Thought
for the Day
Pulitzer Prize (1961) winning American author of children’s
books and poetry Phyllis
McGinley wrote, “A hobby a day keeps the doldrums away.”
Today our passages are Leviticus
20:22–22:16; Mark 9:1-29; Psalm 43:1-5; and Proverbs 10:18. The readings are the
Contemporary English
Version.
Leviticus 20:22-22:16 (Contemporary English Version)
22Obey my laws and teachings. Or
else the land I am giving you will become sick of you and throw you out. 23The nations I am chasing out did these
disgusting things, and I hated them for it, so don't follow their example. 24I am the LORD your God, and I have
promised you their land that is rich with milk and honey. I have chosen you to
be different from other people. 25That's why you must make a difference between animals and
birds that I have said are clean and unclean
--this will keep you from becoming disgusting to me. 26I am the LORD, the holy God. You have been chosen to be
my people, and so you must be holy too. 27If you claim to receive messages from the dead, you will
be put to death by stoning, just as you deserve.
Leviticus 21
Instructions for Priests
1The
LORD gave Moses these instructions for Aaron's sons, the priests:
Touching a dead body will make you unclean. So don't go near a dead
relative, 2except your mother, father,
son, daughter, brother, 3or an
unmarried sister, who has no husband to take care of her. 4Don't make yourself unclean by attending the funeral of
someone related to you by marriage.
5Don't shave any part of your head or
trim your beard or cut yourself to show that you are mourning. 6I am the LORD your God, and I have chosen
you alone to offer sacrifices of food to me on the altar. That's why you must
keep yourselves holy. 7Don't marry a
divorced woman or a woman who has served as a temple prostitute. You are holy,
8because I am holy. And so, you must be
treated with proper respect, since you offer food sacrifices to me, the God of
holiness. 9If any of you priests has a
daughter who disgraces you by serving as a temple prostitute, she must be burned
to death.
10If you are the high priest,
you must not mess up your hair or tear your clothes in order to mourn for the
dead. 11Don't make yourself unclean by
going near a dead body, not even that of your own father or mother. 12If you leave the sacred place to attend a
funeral, both you and the sacred place become unclean, because you are the high
priest.
13If you are the high priest,
you must marry only a virgin 14from
your own tribe. Don't marry a divorced woman or any other woman who has already
had sex, including a temple prostitute. 15In this way, your descendants will be qualified to serve
me. Remember--I am the LORD, and I have chosen you.
16The LORD told Moses 17-18to say to Aaron:
No descendant of yours can ever serve as my priest if he is blind or lame,
if his face is disfigured, if one leg is shorter than the other, 19if either a foot or a hand is crippled,
20if he is a hunchback or a dwarf, if
an eye or his skin is diseased, or if his testicles have been damaged. 21These men may not serve as my priests and
burn sacrifices to me. 22They may eat
the food offerings presented to me, 23but they may not enter the sacred place or serve me at
the altar. Remember--I am the LORD, the one who makes a priest holy.
24Moses told all of this to
Aaron, his sons, and the people of Israel.
Leviticus 22
The Offerings Are Holy
1The
LORD told Moses 2to say to Aaron and
his sons:
I am the LORD God, and I demand that you honor my holy name by showing
proper respect for the offerings brought to me by the people of Israel. 3If any of you are unclean when you accept
an offering for me, I will no longer let you serve as a priest. 4None of you may take part in the sacred
meals while you have a skin disease or an infected penis, or after you have been
near a dead body or have had a flow of semen, 5or if you have touched an unclean creature of any sort,
including an unclean person. 6-7Once
you are unclean, you must take a bath, but you still cannot eat any of the
sacred food until evening. 8I command
you not to eat anything that is killed by a wild animal or dies a natural death.
This would make you unclean. 9Obey me,
or you will die on duty for disgracing the place of worship. Remember--I am the
LORD, the one who makes a priest holy.
10Only you priests and your
families may eat the food offerings; these are too sacred for any of your
servants. 11However, any slave that you
own, including those born into your household, may eat this food. 12If your daughter marries someone who isn't
a priest, she can no longer have any of this food. 13But if she returns to your home, either widowed or
divorced, and has no children, she may join in the meal. Only members of a
priestly family can eat this food, 14and anyone else who accidentally does so, must pay for
the food plus a fine of twenty percent.
15I warn you not to treat
lightly the offerings that are brought by the people of Israel. 16Don't let them become guilty of eating
this sacred food. Remember--I am the LORD, the one who makes these offerings
holy.
Mark 9:1-29 (Contemporary English Version)
Mark 9
1I can assure you that
some of the people standing here will not die before they see God's kingdom come
with power.
The True Glory of Jesus
(Matthew 17.1-13; Luke 9.28-36)
2Six days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John with him.
They went up on a high mountain, where they could be alone. There in front of
the disciples, Jesus was completely changed. 3And his clothes became much whiter than any bleach on
earth could make them. 4Then Moses and
Elijah were there talking with Jesus.
5Peter said to Jesus, "Teacher,
it is good for us to be here! Let us make three shelters, one for you, one for
Moses, and one for Elijah." 6But Peter
and the others were terribly frightened, and he did not know what he was talking
about.
7The shadow of a cloud passed
over and covered them. From the cloud a voice said, "This is my Son, and I love
him. Listen to what he says!" 8At once
the disciples looked around, but they saw only Jesus.
9As Jesus and his disciples
were coming down the mountain, he told them not to say a word about what they
had seen, until the Son of Man had been raised from death. 10So they kept it to themselves. But they wondered what he
meant by the words "raised from death."
11The disciples asked Jesus,
"Don't the teachers of the Law of Moses say that Elijah must come before the
Messiah does?"
12Jesus answered:
Elijah certainly will come to
get everything ready. But don't the Scriptures also say that the Son of Man must
suffer terribly and be rejected? 13I
can assure you that Elijah has already come. And people treated him just as they
wanted to, as the Scriptures say they would.
Jesus Heals a Boy
(Matthew 17.14-20; Luke 9.37-43a)
14When Jesus and his three disciples came back down, they
saw a large crowd around the other disciples. The teachers of the Law of Moses
were arguing with them.
15The crowd was really
surprised to see Jesus, and everyone hurried over to greet him.
16Jesus asked, "What are you
arguing about?"
17Someone from the crowd
answered, "Teacher, I brought my son to you. A demon keeps him from talking.
18Whenever the demon attacks my son,
it throws him to the ground and makes him foam at the mouth and grit his teeth
in pain. Then he becomes stiff. I asked your disciples to force out the demon,
but they couldn't do it."
19Jesus said, "You people don't
have any faith! How much longer must I be with you? Why do I have to put up with
you? Bring the boy to me."
20They brought the boy, and as
soon as the demon saw Jesus, it made the boy shake all over. He fell down and
began rolling on the ground and foaming at the mouth.
21Jesus asked the boy's father,
"How long has he been like this?"
The man answered, "Ever since he was a child. 22The demon has often tried to kill him by throwing him
into a fire or into water. Please have pity and help us if you can!"
23Jesus replied, "Why do you
say `if you can'? Anything is possible for someone who has faith!"
24Right away the boy's father
shouted, "I do have faith! Please help me to have even more."
25When Jesus saw that a crowd
was gathering fast, he spoke sternly to the evil spirit that had kept the boy
from speaking or hearing. He said, "I order you to come out of the boy! Don't
ever bother him again."
26The spirit screamed and made
the boy shake all over. Then it went out of him. The boy looked dead, and almost
everyone said he was. 27But Jesus took
hold of his hand and helped him stand up.
28After Jesus and the disciples
had gone back home and were alone, they asked him, "Why couldn't we force out
that demon?"
29Jesus answered, "Only prayer
can force out that kind of demon."
Psalm 43:1-5 (Contemporary English Version)
Psalm 43
A Prayer in Times of Trouble
1Show that I am right, God!
Defend me against everyone
who doesn't know you;
rescue me from each
of those deceitful liars.
2I run to you
for protection.
Why have you turned me away?
Why must enemies mistreat me
and make me sad?
3Send your light and your truth
to guide me.
Let them lead me to your house
on your sacred mountain.
4Then I will worship
at your altar
because you
make me joyful.
You are my God,
and I will praise you.
Yes, I will praise you
as I play my harp.
5Why am I discouraged?
Why am I restless?
I trust you!
And I will praise you again
because you help me,
and you are my God.
Proverbs 10:18 (Contemporary English Version)
18You can hide your hatred
by telling lies,
but you are a fool
to spread lies.
Verse of the Day
“Children, you show love for others by truly helping them, and not merely by
talking about it.” - 1
John 3:18
Thought
for the Day
French mathematician, physicist, astronomer and politician François Arago
wrote, “Such is the privilege of genius; it perceives, it seizes relations where
vulgar eyes see only isolated facts.”
Today our passages are Leviticus
19:1–20:21; Mark 8:11-38; Psalm 42:1-11; and Proverbs 10:17. The readings are
the Contemporary English
Version.
Leviticus 19-20:21 (Contemporary English Version)
Leviticus 19
Moral and Religious Laws
1The
LORD told Moses 2to say to the
community of Israel:
I am the LORD your God. I am holy, and you must be holy too! 3-4Respect your father and your mother,
honor the Sabbath, and don't make idols or images. I am the LORD your God.
5When you offer a sacrifice to
ask my blessing, be
sure to follow my instructions. 6You
may eat the meat either on the day of the sacrifice or on the next day, but you
must burn anything left until the third day. 7If you eat any of it on the third day, the sacrifice will
be disgusting to me, and I will reject it. 8In fact, you will be punished for not respecting what I
say is holy, and you will no longer belong to the community of Israel. 9When you harvest your grain, always leave
some of it standing along the edges of your fields and don't pick up what falls
on the ground. 10Don't strip your
grapevines clean or gather the grapes that fall off the vines. Leave them for
the poor and for those foreigners who live among you. I am the LORD your God.
11Do not steal or tell lies or
cheat others.
12Do not misuse my name by
making promises you don't intend to keep. I am the LORD your God.
13Do not steal anything or cheat
anyone, and don't fail to pay your workers at the end of each day.
14I am the LORD your God, and I command
you not to make fun of the deaf or to cause a blind person to stumble.
15Be fair, no matter who is on
trial--don't favor either the poor or the rich.
16Don't be a gossip, but never
hesitate to speak up in court, especially if your testimony can save someone's
life.
17Don't hold grudges. On the other
hand, it's wrong not to correct someone who needs correcting. 18Stop being angry and don't try to take
revenge. I am the LORD, and I command you to love others as much as you love
yourself.
19Breed your livestock animals
only with animals of the same kind, and don't plant two kinds of seed in the
same field or wear clothes made of different kinds of material.
20If a man has sex with a slave
woman who is promised in marriage to someone else, he must pay a fine, but they
are not to be put to death. After all, she was still a slave at the time.
21-22The man must bring a ram to the
entrance of the sacred tent and give it to a priest, who will then offer it as a
sacrifice to me, so the man's sins will be forgiven. 23After you enter the land, you will plant fruit trees, but
you are not to eat any of their fruit for the first three years. 24In the fourth year the fruit must be set
apart, as an expression of thanks 25to
me, the LORD God. Do this, and in the fifth year, those trees will produce an
abundant harvest of fruit for you to eat.
26Don't eat the blood of any
animal.
Don't practice any kind of witchcraft.
27-28I forbid you to shave any
part of your head or beard or to cut and tattoo yourself as a way of worshiping
the dead.
29Don't let your daughters serve
as temple prostitutes--this would bring disgrace both to them and the land.
30I command you to respect the
Sabbath and the place where I am worshiped.
31Don't make yourselves
disgusting to me by going to people who claim they can talk to the dead.
32I command you to show respect
for older people and to obey me with fear and trembling.
33Don't mistreat any foreigners
who live in your land. 34Instead, treat
them as well as you treat citizens and love them as much as you love yourself.
Remember, you were once foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.
35-36Use honest scales and don't
cheat when you weigh or measure anything.
I am the LORD your God. I rescued you from Egypt, 37and I command you to obey my laws.
Leviticus 20
Penalties for Disobeying God's Laws
1The LORD told Moses 2to say to the community of Israel:
Death by stoning is the penalty for any citizens or foreigners in the
country who sacrifice their children to the god Molech. 3They have disgraced both the place where I am worshiped
and my holy name, and so I will turn against them and no longer let them belong
to my people. 4Some of you may let them
get away with human sacrifice, 5but not
me. If any of you worship Molech, I will turn against you and your entire
family, and I will no longer let you belong to my people.
6I will be your enemy if you go
to someone who claims to speak with the dead, and I will destroy you from among
my people. 7Dedicate yourselves to me
and be holy because I am the LORD your God. 8I have chosen you as my people, and I expect you to obey
my laws.
9If you curse your father or
mother, you will be put to death, and it will be your own fault.
10If any of you men have sex
with another man's wife, both you and the woman will be put to death.
11Having sex with one of your
father's wives disgraces him. So both you and the woman will be put to death,
just as you deserve. 12It isn't natural
to have sex with your daughter-in-law, and both of you will be put to death,
just as you deserve. 13It's disgusting
for men to have sex with one another, and those who do will be put to death,
just as they deserve. 14It isn't
natural for a man to marry both a mother and her daughter, and so all three of
them will be burned to death. 15-16If
any of you have sex with an animal, both you and the animal will be put to
death, just as you deserve.
17If you marry one of your
sisters, you will be punished, and the two of you will be disgraced by being
openly forced out of the community. 18If you have sex with a woman during her monthly period,
both you and the woman will be cut off from the people of Israel. 19The sisters of your father and mother are
your own relatives, and you will be punished for having sex with any of them.
20If you have sex with your uncle's
wife, neither you nor she will ever have any children. 21And if you marry your sister-in-law, neither of you will
ever have any children.
Mark 8:11-38 (Contemporary English Version)
A Sign from Heaven
(Matthew 16.1-4)
11The
Pharisees came out and started an argument with Jesus. They wanted to test him
by asking for a sign from heaven. 12Jesus groaned and said, "Why are you always looking for a
sign? I can promise you that you will not be given one!" 13Then he left them. He again got into a boat and crossed
over to the other side of the lake.
The Yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod
(Matthew 16.5-12)
14The
disciples had forgotten to bring any bread, and they had only one loaf with them
in the boat. 15Jesus warned them,
"Watch out! Guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod."
16The disciples talked this
over and said to each other, "He must be saying this because we don't have any
bread."
17Jesus knew what they were
thinking and asked, "Why are you talking about not having any bread? Don't you
understand? Are your minds still closed? 18Are your eyes blind and your ears deaf? Don't you
remember 19how many baskets of
leftovers you picked up when I fed those five thousand people with only five
small loaves of bread?"
"Yes," the disciples answered. "There were twelve baskets."
20Jesus then asked, "And how
many baskets of leftovers did you pick up when I broke seven small loaves of
bread for those four thousand people?"
"Seven," they answered.
21"Don't you know what I am
talking about by now?" Jesus asked.
Jesus Heals a Blind Man at Bethsaida
22As Jesus and his disciples were going into Bethsaida,
some people brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch the man. 23Jesus took him by the hand and led him
out of the village, where he spit into the man's eyes. He placed his hands on
the blind man and asked him if he could see anything. 24The man looked up and said, "I see people, but they look
like trees walking around."
25Once again Jesus placed his
hands on the man's eyes, and this time the man stared. His eyes were healed, and
he saw everything clearly. 26Jesus
said to him, "You may return home now, but don't go into the village."
Who Is Jesus?
(Matthew 16.13-20; Luke 9.18-21)
27Jesus and his disciples went to the villages near the
town of Caesarea Philippi. As they were walking along, he asked them, "What do
people say about me?"
28The disciples answered, "Some
say you are John the Baptist or maybe Elijah.
Others say you are one of the prophets."
29Then Jesus asked them, "But
who do you say I am?"
"You are the Messiah!" Peter replied.
30Jesus warned the disciples
not to tell anyone about him.
Jesus Speaks about His Suffering and Death
(Matthew 16.21-28; Luke 9.22-27)
31Jesus began telling his disciples what would happen to
him. He said, "The nation's leaders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the
Law of Moses will make the Son of Man suffer terribly. He will be rejected and
killed, but three days later he will rise to life." 32Then Jesus explained clearly what he meant.
Peter took Jesus aside and told him to stop talking like that. 33But when Jesus turned and saw the
disciples, he corrected Peter. He said to him, "Satan, get away from me! You are
thinking like everyone else and not like God."
34Jesus then told the crowd and
the disciples to come closer, and he said:
If any of you want to be my followers, you must forget about yourself. You
must take up your cross and follow me. 35If you want to save your life,
you will destroy it. But if you give up your life for me and for the good news,
you will save it. 36What will you
gain, if you own the whole world but destroy yourself? 37What could you give to get back your soul?
38Don't be ashamed of me and my
message among these unfaithful and sinful people! If you are, the Son of Man
will be ashamed of you when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy
angels.
Psalm 42:1-11 (Contemporary English Version)
Psalm 42
BOOK II
(Psalms 42-72)
(A special psalm for the people of Korah and for the music leader.)
Longing for God
1As a deer
gets thirsty
for streams of water,
I truly am thirsty
for you, my God.
2In my heart, I am thirsty
for you, the living God.
When will I see your face?
3Day and night my tears
are my only food,
as everyone keeps asking,
"Where is your God?"
4Sorrow floods my heart,
when I remember
leading the worshipers
to your house. I
can still hear them shout
their joyful praises.
5Why am I discouraged?
Why am I restless?
I trust you!
And I will praise you again
because you help me,
6and you are my God.
I am deeply discouraged
as I think about you
from where the Jordan begins
at Mount Hermon
and from Mount Mizar.
7Your vicious waves
have swept over me
like an angry ocean
or a roaring waterfall.
8Every day, you are kind,
and at night
you give me a song
as my prayer to you,
the living LORD God.
9You are my mighty rock.
Why have you forgotten me?
Why must enemies mistreat me
and make me sad?
10Even my bones are in pain,
while all day long
my enemies sneer and ask,
"Where is your God?"
11Why am I discouraged?
Why am I restless?
I trust you!
And I will praise you again
because you help me,
and you are my God.
Proverbs 10:17 (Contemporary English Version)
17Accept correction,
and you will find life;
reject correction,
and you will miss the road.
Verse of the Day
“God showed his love for us when he sent his only Son into the world to give
us life.” - 1
John 4:9
Thought
for the Day
American novelist and poet J. G. Holland
wrote, “Responsibility walks hand in hand with capacity and
power.”
